Waking up every morning is a bit like pulling the arm on a slot machine and waiting for the result. As the possibilities roll before our eyes, we optimistically await a good outcome. Is it Friday and I’ve almost survived the week? Is it Monday and I need to suck it up and begin the caffeine drip? Or did I hit the jackpot and it’s the weekend?
Last Saturday, when I realized I hit the jackpot, I had to decide what to do with my riches — Stay in bed? Read? Take the dog for an early walk? Golf? Cook? Invariably, cooking is my choice and then my brain moves on to the next important decision – what to create.
With an extra cup of blueberries in the fridge from my mom, my first thought went to blueberry muffins. I’m always searching for that quintessential “crispy on the top, overflowing with blueberries in the center” recipe. Then I went downstairs and remembered the loaf of challah on the counter. Challah makes great french toast but I wanted the blueberries in each bite. So I searched on challah bread pudding and up popped Shauna Sever’s recipe for blueberry maple breakfast bread pudding. I felt like I hit the jackpot again!
I loved her approach – simple formula for success with lots of room for variation.
I halved the recipe, added some orange juice, cinnamon, and lemon zest, used lactose-free milk, and added peaches to the mix. So simple to put together that I could fit in an early dog walk and the cooking.
Below is my version of the recipe but be sure to head over to Shauna’s blog to see her post, where she explains all about her love for bread pudding and the basic calculations for quickly pulling one together.
By the way, if you celebrate the Jewish New Year, this dish would be a perfect use for your leftover sweet as honey round challahs!
Have you ever eaten bread pudding, and if yes, what’s your favorite version of this versatile dish?
- ½ of a 1 lb loaf of challah, cut in 1 inch squares or enough to fill an 8x8 glass pan
- 3 large eggs
- 1⅓ cups of milk (I used lowfat lactose free - something richer would be great as well)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of ½ a lemon
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup of fresh blueberries
- 1 peach chopped
- Preheat the oven to 375 convect or regular bake.
- Slice bread into cubes and place in a buttered 8x8 glass pan (round is fine too)
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, orange juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients directly into the pan filled with the bread along with about ¾ of the blueberries and peaches. Gently mix to combine. Then let it all sit for 5 minutes or so. Then scatter the rest of the fruit on the top.
- Bake at 375 convect for about 20 - 25 minutes or 375 regular for about 30 minutes. If you double the recipe, it will take longer to cook.
- When it is nearly done, you will notice it has puffed up and a knife inserted in it should come out clean. Let it sit on a wire rack or stove top for 10 - 15 minutes before you serve. A little maple syrup over the top when you serve would not be a bad thing at all. Just saying.
You may also like -
A Knead to Bake and Lonni’s Heartfelt Challah Recipe
The Battle of the Blintz – Celebrating the Jewish New Year with Food
French Fridays with Dorie: Spice-poached Apples and Pears
Battle of the Blintz Returns – Russian Grandma’s Recipe Prevails!
Melissa Clark’s Maple Blueberry Tea Cake or was that Pan-Cake?
I’m Beth – a seasoned marketing professional, kitchen table storyteller, and enthusiastic food consumer. Hang out in my virtual kitchen and I promise to feed you recipes, stories, and lots of inspiration!
This looks just lovely! I look forward to making it while blueberries and peaches are fresh at the farmer’s market. Thanks Beth!
And when they are no longer in season, we will come up with new mix-ins!
looks delish. I might just try it before the summer passes us by.
You should – not really any harder than making french toast – maybe easier!
I agree weekends are made for cooking, especially when the day begins with a scoop of this lush Challah Bread Pudding! I adore the addition of peaches, soon they will disappear and become a summer memory.
The heat is tricking us into thinking summer is still here but my daily school carpool schedule says otherwise!
Thank you for posting this. I can’t wait to try it.
Let me know if you try it Linda! I bet you’ll come up with another fun twist!
Love all of the citrus in this recipe! And, you really captured that feeling at the moment you wake up on the weekend — JACKPOT:)
There is nothing quite like that Saturday morning payoff is there?
This looks SO good. I love challah!
Thanks – ahem – it was SO good! Make it – you’ll love it! I love the name of your blog and you spell your name as we spelled our daughter’s!
Bread pudding is the way to go for fall recipes!
Yes! Comfort food at its finest!
This looks scrumptious! Peaches, blueberries and yummies. Thank you Beth for the fabulous recipe and the visit to my site today. Nice to meet you!
And you as well! Those peaches and blueberries are becoming just fond memories – time to move on to apples and pumpkin! Or did I freeze some …
Delicious, Beth – peaches and blueberries are such a great combo together. Challah is something I am yet to try. I will have a go at making it one of these days. I often make my bread pudding with croissants or with panetone, and put in loads of raspberries and chocolate.
Oh my goodness. I LOVE bread pudding. I can’t believe I never thought to add fruit! I can’t wait to give this a try.
I made a FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
& USED THE CHALLAH BREAD FROM MY LOCAL SUPERMARKET. THE RECIPE CALLED FOR FRENCH BREAD SO INSTEAD I USED THE CHALLAH BREAD & CUT INTO 1-INCH CUBES. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING & BEST OF ALL….MY FAMILY LOVED IT!
Yah!! So glad – it’s a great Christmas morning breakfast. Yesterday my kids did the same thing w some challah-like bread my son brought home – so delish! Thanks for sharing your experience and have a wonderful new year!
I love bread pudding…this looks so delicious! A sandwich shop in my town makes theirs with croissants and it comes out like bars…I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully so far) to come out with the same consistency. Can’t wait to try yours with the challah! Yum!
I was really happy with an iteration I made yesterday. I used cara cara oranges instead of lemon and blueberries and strawberries. The nice thing about baking fruit is that it doesn’t need to be the best and it still tastes yummy. I probably said this in the directions, but stick a knife in the center and when it comes out clean, you are good to go. You’ll see the whole thing puff up a bit as the egg mixture cooks. I think challah is a great vehicle for bread pudding. And you could totally cut it into attractive pieces if you wanted once it cooled down. Thanks for stopping by Michelle!
I used to eat Challah Bread daily while living in Queens, NYC. That is one of the things I miss most about NYC. Love your recipe. It is so creative to mix it with delicious fruits